Hello folksies! Merie here today with a guest post by Kellyn Roth, author of the Chronicles of Alice and Ivy series. Read on to learn about Kell’s opinions on some of the least attractive tropes in Christian fiction–as well as your next clue for the Beyond Her Calling launch tour scavenger hunt! (More info down below 🙂 )
Hey everyone! I’m Kellyn Roth, and today I’m here to share my least favorite tropes in Christian fiction—the ones that almost never leave me walking away from a book satisfied. In fact, some of these tropes have turned decent novels into 1 star reads for me!
Before I start, thank you, Merie, for letting me come onto your blog and talk for my book launch! I really appreciate your help getting the news about Beyond Her Calling out there.
So let’s dive into my top 3 “no go” tropes!
The Immediate Conversion
I’m always a bit confused by this one, because supposedly the writers of Christian fiction are Christians. Was your conversion the work of a moment?
What bothers me most about this is not the fact that the story shares a salvation message, which can be done well if it’s most focused on the growth of the individual character than pushing the author’s message. It’s the way some Christians will have a character go from “I hate God!” to a happy, hearty Christian in like three pages.
Our hearts are not easily won. We are a stubborn race, us humans. You only have to read the Bible to find that out. So why make it so easy? At least show the behind-the-scenes to your poor reader before dumping a sudden change on them!
Kidnapped Heroine
I don’t think this is just in Christian fiction, but it’s very prominent in a lot of the romances I read. The heroine is always getting kidnapped! And it drives me crazy.
What makes me even madder is often the kidnapping is SO easy. The heroine does stupid things like wandering away from the group, or fighting with the hero and walking off into the darkness. HOW!? How could any person be so stupid? And usually there have been threats that they ignored, and then they get taken SO easily without putting up ANY fight …
And then in a moment, it’s all undone. The hero or someone helping him sweeps in and saves the day with no effort whatsoever.
I have seen this trope flipped on its head a couple times, and it’s always a delight, but it doesn’t happen often. Mostly, it’s just a trope that leaves me in utter despair, disliking the heroine and annoyed with the author.
The Big Misunderstanding Fight
*sigh* This one is quite irritating. It’s generally between the hero and the heroine of a romance, but it can be between any two characters. And let me just say it drives me mad.
The worst thing about it is it generally comes just before the end and is the last big problem the hero and heroine have to solve before their happily-ever-after. Which is super annoying, because it means these two people really shouldn’t end up together. After all, they can’t solve a super simple misunderstanding (usually) without a lot of drama.
Plus, it just shows a lack of creativity. Can’t we have some kind of threat from the exterior or some real problem to solve?
Well, there you have it, folks! Those are my top 3 least favorite Christian fiction tropes.
Again, thank you, Merie, for letting me share these thoughts and for participating in this blog tour! I really appreciate your support—and the support of anyone who is reading this post, of course!
TTFN!
~Kellyn Roth~
Thanks for sharing these thoughts! I must agree that these tropes are too often overdone… and are probably the reason I don’t read a ton of Christian romance xD But pssst, for anyone listening… The Chronicles of Alice and Ivy don’t do things in a cliche manner, so if you want a bit of fresh Christian fiction, this series is an excellent choice! Before we continue, though, let’s have a little bit of background information on the author herself…
About the Author
Kellyn Roth is a historical romance & women’s fiction author who writes about the empty places where hope has the most room to grow. Her novels include the inspirational Victorian family saga, The Chronicles of Alice and Ivy, and the Kees & Colliers series, which follows a broken family in the tumultuous years of the first half of the 20th century.
Kellyn is a student of the Author Conservatory, a virtual assistant, and a writing coach. When not building her author career, she is likely getting lost somewhere in the Pacific Northwest with her friends, watching period dramas and facetious comedies, or spending time with her husband.
About the Book
Ivy Knight feels that her life may never start. Though her loving family assures her that her place in the world is close to home, she still feels a push to move out of her comfort zone. Hoping against hope, she travels to her old friends at McCale House, seeking a purpose.
Jordy McAllen has just returned to Scotland after his education in London. He fears that what everyone has always said about him may be true: he can’t be a good doctor, let alone a good man. Determined to prove himself, Jordy snatches up the opportunity to become the doctor in the village of Keefmore near his parents’ farm.
When an old friend decides to travel to Keefmore and visit a relative, Ivy follows. She soon finds herself drawn to Jordy, but as their attraction grows, they both face doubts. A relationship between the two of them feels improbable—and might just require a step of impossible faith.
As I mentioned above, there are not one but two giveaways going on at this time! Read on to learn how to enter (time’s running short, so you’d better take your chance 🙂 )
ENTER HERE
Scavenger Hunt Information
THE RULES
- Begin at Stop #1 and continue on to the final post. At the end of each post, you’ll find a CLUE and a LINK to the next stop. Progress to each stop in order.
- Collect all the clues and submit the full phrase at the last blog stop via the linked form to enter the giveaway.
- While you’re at each stop, be sure to comment, as each comment wins you another entry.
- Deadline for entries is Monday, January 31st, at 10 AM Pacific Standard Time.
Your clue for today’s post is…
THE PEOPLE
CLICK HERE to find your next stop! And if you’re lost or coming in late, CLICK HERE to find the first stop!
Imperial Scribis 
Yes, I was waiting for this one!
That first one grates me; it’s just so unrealistic!
Admittedly, I might end up with the second in one WIP – BUT NOT BECAUSE NICKI IS STUPID.
As for the third, well…I’m not sure if I’ve ever done that?? Sure, the couples in my WIPs argue about stuff, like real couples do, but…misunderstandings? *brain coming up empty*
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Hahaha, it makes sense if you have a kidnapped heroine for good reason. But yeah, the first one is annoying and the third one is usually way too angsty to be worth the anticlimactic ending.
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I dislike love triangles and yes, the misunderstanding fights too!
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Ooh, love triangles can be a real pain!
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I love scavenger hunts!🔎 Thanks for the opportunity to participate in this one!❤️
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Thank you for participating!
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First, I am so glad that you like Alice! Not a lot of people did, so it was cool to see that.
Second, thank you for participating in this blog tour and helping out!
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Of course, thanks for writing this post!
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Congrats on your new book
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I also hate those 3 things. Esp the flipping to I love God so fast. That is just not realistic at all. I actually got kicked out of a church years ago because I wanted to take my time and really learn the lessons and study before I would commit to some things within the church. I guess my vibes were right if they went to that length!
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No one should be expected to convert that quickly–and even though it’s possible, it’s not likely to happen as often as it appears xD
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